While the invention is often described herein with reference to a digital video disc, Blu-Ray disc, and video game distribution system, an application to which the invention disclosed herein is advantageously suited, it will be readily apparent that the invention is not limited to that application and can be employed in article dispensing systems used to distribute a wide variety of dispensable articles.
The market for digital video disc (DVD), Blu-Ray movie video, and video game rentals is enormous and growing. In 2003, brick-and-mortar stores dominated the movie video and video game rental landscape in the United States. Statistics showed that two brick-and-mortar companies controlled nearly sixty-five percent of the home video rental business. One element repeatedly cited for success of certain brick-and mortar store video rental franchises was perceived high availability of new video releases. Consumers want entertainment on demand, and through stocking multiple units of each new release, successful brick-and-mortar companies meet this consumer demand.
The foregoing indicate that there was a significant market potential for aligning regular routines of consumers (e.g., shopping, getting coffee or gas or going to a convenience store) with their DVD, Blu-Ray disc, and video game rental activities.
One improved article dispensing machine is disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The invention of U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the invention set forth herein can function as an article dispensing machine-based distribution system that will typically have multiple units of each new release per article dispensing machine. The dispensing machines of U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the invention set forth herein can stock up to two thousand DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, video games, or other discs (movies, games or other entertainment content), making the system competitive with brick-and-mortar video rental superstores at a fraction of the cost.
The dispensing machine and system of U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the invention set forth herein distinguishes itself from such stores by offering major benefits not conventionally offered by such stores, including additional cross-marketing programs (e.g., promotional rentals for a certain amount of dollars spent at the retail location) and convenience (e.g., open always).
The dispensing machine of U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the invention set forth herein yields a competitive advantage in the DVD, Blu-Ray disc, and video game rental marketplace by offering consumers cross-marketing/promotional programs, convenience of selection (e.g., computer-based searches for movies and recommendations based on consumer profiles), and potentially extended hours (e.g., 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). The invention set forth herein employs a more cost-effective, convenient platform than brick-and-mortar stores. In addition, with this invention, article dispensing machines can be situated in retail locations having high foot traffic, such as at a popular grocery store, restaurant, drug store, and/or other popular retail location.
The dispensing machine of U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the invention set forth herein can be operated at a substantial savings over the costs associated with traditional brick-and-mortar video rental stores. For example, the invention disclosed herein does not require hourly employees to continuously man the dispensing machines or restock them with inventories.
Unlike brick-and-mortar stores, the dispensing machine of U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the invention set forth herein does not require an on-site store manager because all operational decisions can be made at a centralized location by a management team in an office remote from the retail locations. Unlike brick-and-mortar stores, the dispensing machine of U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the invention set forth herein does not require significant physical space. Unlike brick-and-mortar stores, the dispensing machine of U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the invention set forth herein has low operating costs because heating or air conditioning is not necessarily required for the dispensing machines and because they consume a relatively low level of electrical energy. In addition, the dispensing machine of U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 has low maintenance costs and downtime.
The dispensing machine of U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the invention set forth herein addresses the shortcomings of traditional brick-and-mortar stores in a convenient and cost-effective delivery vehicle having the added bonus of serving as an effective promotional platform that drives incremental sales to retail locations in which the machines may be housed. In addition, the dispensing machine of U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the invention set forth herein overcomes these disadvantages by at least offering more new releases and older selections for any given time period, and lower cost per viewing with significantly more convenience than Internet-based and pay-per-view services.
The dispensing machine of U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,609 and the invention set forth herein is a fully automated, integrated DVD, Blu-Ray disc, and video game disc rental and/or purchase system. It preferably incorporates robust, secure, scalable software that provides a fully personalized user experience and real-time feedback to retail locations and advertisers, scalable hardware that leverages existing technologies such as touch screen, focused audio speakers and video monitors, and technology utilizing the Internet through a system website or mobile/consumer electronics device application. These technologies and others fill long-felt needs in the art and give advantages over conventional video distribution options.
By utilizing the dispensing machines and the fully-interactive, real-time, linked Internet website or mobile/consumer electronics device applications, consumers can rent one or more DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, video games discs, or other entertainment content directly from dispensing machines as well as indirectly by making a rental reservation through the website or application for later pickup at a conveniently located machine. These dispensing machines are preferably networked with each other, with the inventory control and/or supply office and with the system website or application by phone-line, DSL, wireless network, or other Internet connection at each retail location. Through this linked network, the rental experience for each consumer can be customized based on a profile for each consumer, such as via personalized home pages and rental screens.
Another benefit of the invention set forth herein is that it allows for optimizing the utilization of inventory space for articles dispensable from an article dispensing machine by improving the sorting, removal, and loading of the inventory of articles. A list identifying a subset of articles targeted for removal from the article dispensing machine may be received. The subset of articles may include at least thinned articles, damaged articles, fraudulent articles, do not rent (DNR) articles, rebalancing articles, and/or a combination of these subsets that are to be removed from the article dispensing machine. Further refined subsets of a subset of articles may also be defined. The subset of articles may be moved from a non-removable storage unit in the article dispensing machine to a predetermined area. The predetermined area may include a merchandising zone of the storage unit and/or a separate article removal bin. Inventory management may then be initiated through the receipt of a command from a field service representative. The field service representative may remove each subset of articles from the predetermined area(s) and confirm that the subset of articles was removed. The field service representative may also load new articles into the predetermined area. Loading of the new articles may be confirmed. The new articles may be held in the predetermined area for a preset amount of time, for example, until the new articles are designated as available for rental or sale (e.g., dispensable). Articles that are designated as dispensable may be moved from the predetermined area to the storage unit. The status of each of the articles may be tracked in an inventory database.
The invention set forth herein has the advantage of quicker and more efficient removal of articles from and loading of articles to an article dispensing machine because the articles may be removed from and loaded to the same predetermined area. Moreover, the wear and tear on mechanics of the article dispensing machine and downtime due to mechanical breakdowns may be reduced through use of the invention. Cost savings due to less downtime, maintenance, and time for removing and loading articles may also result.
In addition, the invention set forth herein can provide a method for automated inventory control so that electronic data records can be kept related to inventory control for each dispensing machine within a network of such machines. For example, automatic inventory tracking may take place during dispensing and/or return of articles by the article dispensing machine.
However, despite the automatic inventory tracking capabilities of these dispensing machines, it is useful for these machines to be able to perform an inventory auditing process that independently verifies the inventory of the machine. In one embodiment, during an inventory auditing process, the machine reads the information coded on each dispensable article and may correlate that information to the location of the dispensable article within the machine. A dispensable article may be any article stored in the article dispensing machine that is available for consumption (e.g., rental and/or sale) by a consumer. The correlation of the dispensable article and its location are stored in a database. Such an inventory auditing process is also useful if the stored inventory data is lost or damaged. Such an inventory auditing process may also be used when a large portion of the machine inventory is changed out. Prior inventory auditing processes rendered the machine unusable to customers because the components used for customer transactions were the same as the components used for the inventory auditing process. Specifically, for example, a scanner, selector arm, a processor, and a database are used during the inventory audit and are also used during customer rental, purchase, and return of articles. Since at least some of these same components in the prior machine were needed for customer transactions, a customer would be unable to use the machine while the machine was performing an inventory audit.
The invention set forth herein permits a customer to perform a transaction, such as a rental, purchase or return, while the inventory auditing process is being performed. This permits the inventory auditing process to be performed at any time without limiting the hours of operation of the machine and without lost sales and dissatisfied customers who are unable to use the machine while it performs an inventory audit. However, where inventory has been placed in a predetermined area for removal from the machine, it may not be necessary to audit such inventory.
Thus, the invention set forth herein is directed to a method and apparatus for an article dispensing machine that permits the machine to perform a customer transaction while the machine performs an inventory audit that excludes a predetermined area. In one embodiment, the method includes the initiation of the inventory auditing process. The initiation of the inventory auditing process may occur either automatically or manually via a request from an administrator. The inventory auditing process is controlled by a computer program and, thus, initiation of the inventory auditing process comprises initiation of the computer program and method therein. The computer program may be run as a background program or may be run on a partitioned operating system or other automated arrangement, thereby permitting a customer to interact with the machine operating system and allowing the processor to perform various routines while it runs the inventory auditing program.
During the inventory auditing process, a selector arm located in the machine and having a first sensor attached to it is positioned adjacent a plurality of storage compartments located within the machine. At each storage compartment, the first sensor detects the presence or absence of an article in the storage compartment. If an article is present, the article is removed from the compartment by a picker. The picker then aligns a code on the article with a second sensor that reads information from the code. The information from the code is transferred to a database along with information relating to the location of the storage compartment. If, on the other hand, no article is present in a storage compartment, that information and the location of the storage compartment is transferred to the database. Alternatively, the information from the article and/or the location of the storage bin may be compared to the values in a pre-existing database, thereby verifying the accuracy of the pre-existing database. After the information is read for one compartment, the selector arm is aligned with the next compartment. The article or lack thereof in each compartment is read by the first sensor until the process is stopped or until all compartments have been checked/read.
If the storage unit of the article dispensing machine includes a predetermined area (e.g., a merchandising zone and/or an article removal bin), the inventory auditing process may be configured to not audit the predetermined area. To this extent, the storage compartments located within the predetermined area may be designated as “non-auditable storage compartments,” while the remaining compartments may be “auditable storage compartments.” A list of non-auditable storage compartments may be compiled and used by the controller to determine which compartments to bypass during the inventory auditing process. In one embodiment, the auditable or non-auditable designation for each storage compartment is based on a status of the media article stored therein. For example, storage compartments holding dispensable media articles may be designated as auditable compartments. Likewise, storage compartments holding non-dispensable media articles may be designated as non-auditable compartments.
During the inventory auditing process, a user interface, such as a touch screen or keypad, remains available for use by a customer. Using the user interface, a customer may initiate a transaction that requires the use of the sensor and selector arm, such as a video rental, purchase process or return. In response to the requested transaction, the computer pauses the inventory auditing program. The various components of the machine perform the transaction requested by the user, which may require the sensor to read information from the returned or requested video and may further require transport of the returned or requested video.
When the transaction is completed, the inventory auditing process is resumed. The inventory auditing process resumes at the point at which it was paused and continues to scan each auditable storage compartment until completion of the program. Other features and advantages are provided by the following description and drawings.